Qereti is anAmerican citizen, and, as of 2010, lives inCalifornia, where she has worked with producers such asTimbaland,Rodney Jerkins, andGrammy Award winnerDavid Foster.[3] She has released eight studio albums in Albanian, and has released several singles in English, such as "Show Off", "Famous", "Take You Over", "Without You" and "Pass Out," the latter co-produced byTimbaland. On September 10, 2013, she released the single "Take It Like a Man", which went to No. 7 in the UK charts. She was also a celebrity judge on the fourth season of theAlbanian version ofThe X Factor and the breakout star of the 2014Bravo reality seriesEuros of Hollywood.
Qereti was born on May 14, 1979 inKorçë, the daughter of Albanian parents Oli and Nazmi Qereti.[5]
Bleona began singing at age 5 when she joined the House of Pionieri. At 13, her parents encouraged her to focus on academics and give up on singing, but against their advice, she continued to pursue a career in entertainment. When she was 14 years old, Bleona earned an audition and landed her first major role as the lead singer for the Skampa Theater inElbasan.
Following a performance at theAlbanian National Music Festival at age 15, Bleona became a household name in her native country. She released her first single "Lermëni (Let Me Be Free)" in 1996, and the following year issued her debut albumKam Qejfin Tim (I Run My Own Game).[6][7]Bleona's first major tour took place that year, and she performed 25 summer shows at concert halls inSwitzerland andGermany.[8] Bleona has said she learned Italian through music and often performs in Italian, and she also records in English and Albanian.[9]She studied theStanislavski System of acting, graduating with a BA from the Academy of Performing Arts inTirana. She also playsviolin.[10]
From 1998 through 2002, Bleona released four albums, all of which reached the charts in southeastern Europe.[11] In 1999 she headlined the Humanitarian Tour for the People of Kosovo, where she played a number of concerts around Europe. From 2000 to 2001, she performed more than 80 concerts across Europe, and by 2002 was headlining outdoor concerts and festivals. In 2002, a concert program titledNje xhiro neper Shqiperi (Walking Through Albania) was issued; footage is available online.[12]In 2003, Bleona releasedTi Nuk Di As Me Ma Lyp. A 2004 piece in the Albanian dailyPanorama relayed her own claim that the album had sold 400,000 copies by that time.[13] Over the next four years, she again toured throughoutKosovo,England,Germany,Switzerland, andItaly, and co-headlined with the rock group,Elita 5.[14]
Reports have linked an early U.S. appearance to New York’sWebster Hall in 2004.[citation needed]Since 2013, she has performed at U.S. events including White Party Palm Springs and Las Vegas Pride, and she staged concerts in the Balkans in 2012.[15][16][17][18]
In 2005, her songS'dua received the Television Prize (Çmimi Televiziv) at the Kënga Magjike (Magic Song) festival in Tirana, Albania.[19] According to her official biography, Bleona's eighth album,Mandarin, reportedly sold over 800,000 copies in 2007, breaking her previous record.[20]In theme with the album, which means "tangerine", she dyed her hair red in 2006 and kept it that way until 2007, featuring the color in three music videos.[21]In 2008, Bleona won two awards (media and internet) with the song "Magnetic" at the "Magic Song Festival Awards".[22]
Bleona moved to the U.S. in September 2010. Shortly afterward, she met producerTimbaland while both were attending theGrammy Awards, and after a year of discussions, she began working with him on three new tracks.[23] Her first English language single, "Show Off", featuringPetey Pablo, was released on September 27, 2010. Bleona has also worked on songs withRodney Jerkins, Makeba, andJimmy Douglass.[24]
In September 2012, Bleona's co-produced single withTimbaland, "Pass Out", featuringBrasco, was released.[26] She toured Europe to promote the single, performing in Albania in the cities ofVlora,Elbasan,Shkoder andTirana; the capital city ofPristina inKosovo;Tetovo inMacedonia andDüsseldorf, Germany. Supporting her on tour was DJ Freestyle Steve and Brasco. According to CNA, in 2012, Bleona’s tour concerts “exceeded all expectations, reaching over 70,000 spectators.”[27]
A shooting for the music video of "Monster" in Italy.
In mid-2013, Bleona announced the release of her single "Take It Like a Man", produced by StopWaitGo.[28] A review on EQ Music Blog described "Take It Like a Man" as "a pop fizzy anthem that bubbles with euro pop sensibility".[29]She celebrated the track reaching number 7 on the UK club charts by headlining Las Vegas Gay Pride on September 7, 2013.[30]
Bleona was invited to perform consecutive years at the Palm Springs White Party, in 2013 and 2014.[31][32]
In 2015, following her time as a judge onX Factor Europe, Bleona's single "Take You Over" peaked at number 3 on theBillboardDance Club Songs chart.[33]
Bleona recorded her version of the 1980s Italian hit song "Su di noi", originally byEnzo Ghinazzi. Her music video for the track was shot at the iconic El Matador Beach inMalibu, California. In February 2019, she landed her first number-one single on theBillboardDance Club Songs chart with the hit track "I Don't Need Your Love".[33]
In February 2014, Bleona started shooting a new reality television series titledEuros of Hollywood which premiered on November 3, 2014, onBravo. The show followed Bleona recording her first album in English and her life in America on becoming a global superstar. In 2015, Bleona returned to Albania where she was a member of theX Factor jury. In 2016, she was a member of the AlbanianYour Face Sounds Familiar jury.[35] Bleona played the role of Nova in the seriesPaper Empire, which debuted in 2019. The show featured an ensemble cast including Wesley Snipes, Denise Richards, Robert Davi, and Anne Archer.[36] In 2021, Bleona joined the Albanian reality television showLove Story as an opinionist.[37]
Qereti is multilingual and is fluent in English, Italian, and Albanian.[47][48] In 2009, she moved to the city ofLos Angeles, United States, and became anaturalized American citizen in 2011.
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